Page 24 - Court: The Place of Law and the Space of the City

24 Court

1 2
1 & 2

‘Stones can make people docile
and knowable.’
Michel Foucault

3 4
3 & 4

The Docks, physically located
with the Courtroom, inflect
towards the prison; society’s
‘other’ space.

5 6
5 & 6

The limits of the Courtroom
mark the symbolic perimeter of
a portal between two
fundamental conditions of
space; society, ‘not’ society.

7 8
7 & 8

Though the gallows have been
removed, the sword in the hand
of Lady Justice, rising above
the Central Criminal Court,
acts as its substitute for the
capacity to extract individuals
from the space of the city.

9 10
9 & 10

The judges and jury are asked
to withdraw from society
temporarily in order to reflect
impartially upon it. They are
roles exclusive to the Court as
the venue of the trial.

Deconstructing the Central Criminal Court
Figure 15: Elements and symbols of the ‘Old Bailey’.